Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 50 Die in Houla; A Presidential Run-Off in Cairo

UN military observers view dozens of victims of Friday's killings in Houla in Syria

See also Bahrain Special: Preaching Religious Tolerance, Practicing Religious Discrimination
Bahrain Live Coverage: UN Human Rights Council Sends Message to Regime
Friday's Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Waiting for a Presidential Outcome
Egypt Opinion: A Reminder After the Presidential Vote "The Revolution Lives"

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2015 GMT: SyriaTonight's protest in the Kafarsouseh section of Damascus, in sympathy with the people of Houla:

1945 GMT: Algeria. Lawmakers of the "moderate" Islamic Green Algeria Alliance and two smaller Islamic factions have walked out of the inaugural session of the new Parliament to protest against an election they claim was rigged to give a majority to the ruling party.

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 50 Die in Houla; A Presidential Run-Off in Cairo

Saturday's Live Coverage has now been moved to the top of the homepage....

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "A Divided and Dangerous City"

State TV footage of scene of this morning's double explosion in Syrian capital Damascus (see 0655 GMT)

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2130 GMT: Palestine. An official with Palestinian prisoners' rights group Addameer has said that Israel's prison service has offered to ease restrictions on Palestinian prisoners in a bid to end a mass hunger strike.

About 1,600 Palestinian prisoners are fasting to protest administrative detention, under which Israel can hold people indefinitely without charge. They are also challenging solitary confinement, detention without charge and restrictions on family visits, education, and other privileges.

Two of those protesting, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, are on th 72nd day of hunger strikes.

The Addameer official said, after a meeting on Wednesday night in Nafha Prison between the Prison Service and leaders of the hunger strike, "There might be a positive response in the next few days." She said the Prison Service "agreed to allow visits for families from Gaza" and to revoke a range of restrictions on prisoners, including a ban on education and other privileges. She added that an agreement on moving prisoners out of solitary confinement was also on the table.

Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman confirmed the Nafha meeting, saying it was part of an ongoing process of consultations between detainees and a committee examining prison conditions.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The "Terrorists" on the Streets

Friday's protest rally in Bahrain

See also Palestine Feature: Communications Minister Resigns Over Blocking of Websites
Jordan Feature: Troubled "Reform" as Prime Minister Resigns
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Just Another Protest Friday?
Friday's Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers

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2235 GMT: We're taking a Saturday night break --- back at 0600 GMT on Sunday with the latest news from North Africa and the Middle East.

1718 GMT: Iraq. A Bahraini activist is reporting that human rights defender Said Yousif and former MP Sayed Hadi Al Mosawi, detained earlier today during a march in Manama (see 1525 and 1607 GMT), have been released.

1700 GMT: Iraq. Wladimir van Wilgenburg passes on reports of closed-door meetings today in Erbil in Kurdistan between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, Iraqiyya Party leader Iyad Allawi, and leading Shia politician Moqtada al-Sadr to discuss political tension over the national government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, embroiled in a number of disputes with other prominent politicians, was not present.

Van Wilgenburg evaluates that the session indicates that Talabani's opinion might not be that different from that of Barzani, despite earlier reports of points of disagreement. In contrast, Sadr met with al-Maliki in Iran before heading to Kurdistan, and a Sadrist spokesperson said they would not discuss withdrawing confidence from the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Iraqiyya list member Salih al-Mutlaq, despite his opposition to al-Maliki, criticized Barzani's call for a referendum in September for Kurdish independence.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Grand Prix Protests

Wednesday's night mass protest in the Damascus suburb of Irbeen

See also Yemen Feature: CIA Seeks Authority to Expand Drone Programme
Morocco Analysis: Why Did the Moroccan Uprising Not Rise?
Syria Feature: Activists to Insurgents "We Want Our Revolution Back"
Bahrain Video Special: Activists Declare "No Formula 1 in A Bloody Kingdom"
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Wednesday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Appealing to Damascus

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2130 GMT: As reported earlier, many journalists have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1. Earlier this evening, a team from Sky News, intending to cover the humanitarian and political situation in Bahrain, were likewise denied entry. EA understands that the team is now back in Dubai and remain intent on gaining entry into Bahrain to see for themselves the situation on the ground.

The Sky News team was headed by Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay who has been tweeting about the experience and his frustration with the Bahrain authorities:

Sky news denied access to report from f1 in bahrain #Bahrain

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

Govt refuses to explain why I can't come in

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

We are excluded without redress but have asked to represent all sides

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

#Bahrain govt welcomes f1 but not independent journalists who actually understand the complexity of this issue

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

I asked to report on the country not the F1 and they know that come on your excellencies grow up

— Stuart Ramsay (@ramsaysky) April 19, 2012

1959 GMT: Multiple journalists, from news Agencies such as AFP and AP, have been denied entry into Bahrain to cover the F1 race:

Associated Press said two of its Dubai-based journalists were prevented from covering the Grant Prix because they could not receive entry visas, despite being accredited by the FIA.

Meanwhile, cameramen already in Bahrain were required to keep fluorescent orange stickers on their cameras so that they would be easily recognisable to ensure they do not cover any off-track events, such as ongoing protests.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Defiance

An insurgent fires at a regime tank in Idlib Province in the northwest

See also Syria Video Special: Interview of Paul Conroy, Survivor of Baba Amr
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Assad Will Have to Kill Us All"

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2200 GMT: After clashes in Sitra in Bahrain today, a police SUV lost control and hit a wall, then burned. The Ministry of Interior reported that four policemen were injured.

An EA correspondent reports, "Sitra is now blocked by police am trying to find away in. Expectations of raids on houses & arrests on the island".

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Iran Analysis: The Drone Appears --- Now for the Politics....

Only hours before the Tehran display, the Administration had tried to recover with a tough-guy defiance: "yeah, we sent the drone over Iran; we've been doing it for years; it's all part of our successful progamme to disrupt Iran's nuclear efforts; a drone crashed; so what?" That pose was soon overtaken, even if President Obama issued a holding statement about "the toughest sanctions that Iran has ever experienced", while refraining from even a word about the drone.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Protest in the Heart of Damascus

2039 GMT: But for all the reports of violence, we've received 10 reports of protests. This video shows a cute little girl leading an evening protest in the Qarabis district of Homs:

This crowd chants anti-regime protests in Jiza, Daraa:

2024 GMT: It's after 10 pm in Syria, but reports continue to come in that the crackdown continues. The LCCS reports that is Kiswah, outside of Damascus, police have conducted house-to-house raids, arresting many, in response to a student protest earlier in the day. A large explosion rocked the Daraa alBalad neighborhood of Daraa, followed by heavy gunfire. And in Latminah, Hama, a 47-year-old father of 4 was reportedly tortured to death after being arrested.

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The Latest from Iran (5 November): You're A Terrorist --- No, You Are...

See also Iran Website Special: The Basij Militia's "Wall Street Fall"
The Latest from Iran (4 November): Ahmadinejad Punches Back

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1445 GMT: Hype Watch. Yet another spin effort by unnamed "diplomats" to international media ahead of next week's release of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear programme....

The Associated Press is the chosen outlet to declare findings of "computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work", including "satellite imagery of...a large steel container used for nuclear arms-related high explosives tests".

AP reports, without critique, that "the newest compilation of suspected weapons-related work is significant in substance and scope".

1434 GMT: The Plot. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has again denounced the US claim of an Iran-backed plan to kill the Saudi Ambassador to Washington. He reiterated that Gholam Shakuri, the Iranian military official who is at the heart of the allegations, is actually a member of the insurgent group Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO).

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: The Crackdown has Stopped?

See also Syria: Crisis may hurt economies of the Region (Saif)

World Leaders Condemn Syria Violence, Assad Regime

Syria Special: Diane Rehm - Escalating Violence in Syria

Syria Video Special: This is What Assad Calls "Withdrawing"

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2015 GMT: A demonstration in Deir Ez Zor in northeast Syria tonight:

And in Douma outside Damascus:

And in Jarjanaz in the northwest:

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