Syria Feature: Regime Threatened by Economic Crisis? (Shadid)

Street Scene in HomsHotels that catered to sandal-wearing backpackers in the storied Syrian city of Aleppo stand empty. Capital from the Persian Gulf that underpinned Syrian ambitions of modernization has begun to dry up. The Syrian pound has faltered, exports have fallen and the government has promised respite with money it will not have for long.

In his first address to Syrians in two months, President Bashar al-Assad warned this week of “the collapse of the Syrian economy.” The words might have been hyperbole, aimed at rallying support for a leadership staggering from a three-month uprising. But the sentiments underlined the danger the economy there poses for a government that long promised its people better lives, even as it refused to surrender any real political power.

Click to read more ...

Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: So What's in a Speech?

Claimed footage of Syrian forces firing on protesters last Friday in the Khalidiya neighbourhood of Homs

2032 GMT: The BBC runs this report from Zliten, Libya...

1907 GMT: The US State Department Spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, has defended a Syrian-government funded trip by a US ambassador to tour northern Syria. Nuland said that it was an opportunity for Ambassador Robert Ford to "see for himself the results of the Syrian government's brutality." According to Ford, the town of Jisr al-Shughour, a focus of the tour, was abandoned, and there were no civilians present to dispute the Syrian government's claims.

1844 GMT: An activist with sources in Libya is claiming that NATO has struck positions occupied by pro-Gaddafi forces near Nalut. Also, Gaddafi's forces in Ghazaya have also been hit by NATO aitstrikes five times in the last day, and his forces in Ruwais have also been struck:

"Mobile Communication cut off in southern #Libya in the following cities :#Sebha #Murzuq #Shatti #Jufra."

1811 GMT: Journalists in Libya are reporting that Misurata is once again being shelled by Gaddafi forces, potentially by Grad rockets. Three or four large explosions have been heard in the last hour, and there were explosions on Benghazi street.

According to Ben Wedeman:

Click to read more ...

Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Standing Down

View LccSy: Syria Protests June 17, 2011 ‎ in a larger map Activists records a map of today's protests in Syria.

See also Syria Video Special: The Latest from Friday's Protests

---

1655 GMT: Anthony Shadid summarises for The New York Times:

Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Damascus’s suburbs and three of Syria’s five largest cities on Friday, in a weekly show of defiance against President Bashar al-Assad. Activists said at least 19 people were killed.

Security forces fired on protesters in Homs, one of Syria most restive locales, and the police and protesters fought in Deir al-Zour, a large city in the east. But thousands were permitted to demonstrate in Kiswa, a town south of Damascus and carry banners that read, “Leave!” and “The people want the fall of the regime.”

Some opposition figures had speculated that the government might try to bring down the weekly death toll, which surged past 100 on one Friday, in anticipation of a speech Mr. Assad is expected to give as early as Sunday. Syrian officials have portrayed the address as significant, though many in the opposition said their expectations were low.

Click to read more ...

Yemen, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And the Downbeat Goes On

View LCCSyria Protest Map June 10, 2011 in a larger map

Activists have created this map of protests today during "Syria's Day of Clans"

2055 GMT: A doctor has told Reuters that the death toll from the regime bombardment of opposition-held Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, has risen to 31. More than 110 people are wounded.

1739 GMT: Earlier, we reported that helicopters were being used to shoot civilians in the streets of Ma'ara Al Nu'man. Another source now says that security forces are going door to door, searching for defected sodliers. 

Click to read more ...

Syria 1st-Hand: "I Don't Want My Girl to Grow Up Afraid Like Me" (Anonymous)

Protest in Homs, April 2011A Homsi friend, whom I’ll call Ghada, told me why she decided to take part in the protests. While visiting Damascus, she was sitting in the back seat of a taxi as the driver began to interrogate her daughter, a four-year-old. “Who is he? This is Dr. Bashar, an eye doctor, are your eyes hurting?” the driver said, pointing at a billboard image of President Assad (who was trained as an ophthalmologist), with the line “The master of country” written over it. “Do you know him? Do you love him?”

For a second, the only image Ghada could think of was the picture of a dead man in Al-Sanameen, near Daraa, who was shot in the eye by government snipers early on in the Syrian uprising. And she remembered a fact every Syrian knows too well: many taxi drivers work for the Mukhabarat, the secret services, and one way they have of gathering information and watching over the current mood in the country is through chit-chat with passengers. For years, Syrians have bitten their tongues when a taxi driver suddenly decided to talk about fuel prices or the government’s performance in any area.

Click to read more ...

Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Touring the Destruction

2110 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in the Harasta section of Damascus in Syria tonight:

2105 GMT: Riot police scatter protesters in Sitra in Bahrain:

Click to read more ...

Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Bizarre Collapse of an Agreement

1806 GMT: A source in Syria provides us with these videos, both taken today. The first shows demonstrators gathering in Kafr Nabl, in the Idlib region of Northwestern Syria.

The second video has the title "Demonstration is always free to women in Syria."

Click to read more ...

Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Long Haul

2015 GMT: Associated Press reports that NATO warplanes have bombed command centres near Tripoli and in Libya's southwest, trying to cut communications links between the Qaddafi regime and his battlefield units.

2005 GMT: Video of a protest in Idlib in Syria during the funeral of a demonstrator killed on Friday:

Click to read more ...

US-Israel Video & Transcript: President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu Speak to Press

Video and transcript of the remarks by US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their meeting in the White House today:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, let me, first of all, welcome again Prime Minister Netanyahu, who I think has now been here seven times during the course of my presidency.  And I want to indicate that the frequency of these meetings is an indication of the extraordinary bonds between our two countries, as is the opportunity for the Prime Minister to address Congress during his visit here.

Click to read more ...

Middle East Video and Transcript: The Obama Speech

See also Middle East Special: Live Analysis of Obama Speech as It is Delivered

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Please, have a seat.  Thank you very much.  I want to begin by thanking Hillary Clinton, who has traveled so much these last six months that she is approaching a new landmark -- one million frequent flyer miles.  (Laughter.)  I count on Hillary every single day, and I believe that she will go down as one of the finest Secretaries of State in our nation’s history.

Click to read more ...