Yemen, Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Surprise Return of Presidents and Protests

Sanabis in Bahrain, blanketed in tear gas today

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2145 GMT: We have taken a Saturday night break to recharge. Apologies for limited service --- we will be at 0600 GMT on Sunday with a full round-up of developments across North Africa and the Middle East and a special feature on Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the latest from Bahrain --- EA sources say Sanabis is a "closed" village with entrances blocked, adding, "It is too dangerous to go out."

In what appears to be a troubling development, there have been a number of house fires in villages where protests have been occurring (see 1110 GMT). What is even more troubling, again from EA sources, are claims that security forces have been setting fires to force out protesters who can be identified and arrested. One source writes, "Police thugs attacking protests in Sanabis who where trying to Extinguish a building on a fire, they attacked us with flashbangs and teargas."

Shaky video of a fire in Sanabis and disorder nearby:

A photograph of Sanabis this evening:

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World Leaders Condemn Syria Violence, Assad Regime

World leaders condemned the violence in Syria today and demanded President Assad step down.

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

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Announces New Sanctions Against Syria

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Iran Analysis: Thoughts on Resistance and the Green Movement (Salim/Nasiri)

In the end, it is important to note that every Iranian person is entitled to the inherent right of self-defense under international law. This right is clearly provided in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments.

The uprising in Tunisia and Egypt teach us that one need not ask for permission from oppressors when fighting for fundamental transformations. It is rather the spontaneous and mass presence of civilians on the streets that can change the balance of power to the advantage of the population. These experiences also teach us that one should not direct oneself to the oppressors to guarantee fundamental rights. Instead, people should clearly recognize their strengths and potential, and pursue their struggle with self-confidence. Because where danger is, the power of salvation also grows.

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Tunisia Snapshot: The Economic Fallout of the Uprising & Libya

Unemployed in Gafsa (August 2010)A few weeks before the month of Ramadan sets in, Tunisia faces the economic fallout of two very different recent events. The first happened nearly five months ago and swept General Zine el Abidine Ben Ali from power in a popular uprising which wrought minimum damage on the fabric of Tunisian farming, manufacturing and tourism infrastructure - indeed there were numerous instances of workers defending factories against marauders or Ben Ali's militia. The second has been in Libya, where the three month UN-authorised military intervention, formally led by NATO, in what had already become a civil war, has inflicted considerable damage to the country's infrastructure. The instability attendant to a prolonged military campaign in Libya presents a serious strategic threat to its northern neighbour, Tunisia.

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Yemen Snapshot: US and European Union Spin in Futility --- What to Do? What to Do? (DeYoung)

Armed Men Trap Ambassadors in UAE Embassy, 22 May 2011As Yemen's President Saleh repeatedly backs away from a deal for transition of power and armed clashes escalate on the streets of the capital Sanaa and other cities, the US and the European Union seem to be spinning helplessly, entangled in their alliance with Saleh in the War on Terror.

Karen DeYoung reports for The Washington Post:

The Obama administration and its Arab and European allies are reassessing their military and economic support for Yemen in a desperate search for ways to force President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s resignation before civil war erupts.

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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."

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Turkey Analysis: The Shortcomings of Prime Minister Erdogan's "The Best Defence is a Good Offence"

UPDATE 22 APRIL: The Supreme Election Board, after eight hours of discussions, has reinstated the candidacy of seven independent candidates.

The Baord had vetoed 12 mostly Kurdish applicants, including two current MPs.

Six Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) candidates and one independent were re-instated. There was no word about the other five who had been blocked.

Protests broke out in several cities across Turkey, with at least one person shot and killed by police on Wednesday, after the board's initial decision.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Strasbourg, France last week, taking questions from the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. When French MP Muriel Marland-Militello, whose grandfather was an Armenian born in Istanbul and escaped Turkey in 1915, asked how he would guarantee freedoms for religious minorities in Turkey, Erdogan said, “I believe this friend is French. She is also 'French” to Turkey', which is a saying in Turkish meaning that 'you don’t know anything about it'."

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Latest from Turkey: The Insurgent PKK, Relations with Russia, the New Middle East, and Israel

Latest developments in Turkey....

What Next with the PKK?

The Kurdish separatist group, PKK, ended its unilateral truce on 28 February. Last week, its life-long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan said: “I will make the evaluation in the coming days in March. If something positive happens, the current state of inaction will continue until elections. If not, I am out, I will fade from the scene. My health situation is already not good enough to carry on this work.”

On the following day, three PKK guerillas/terrorists were killed by Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Sirnak. On Friday, TSK clashed with PKK members in Bingol --- four PKK members and two village guards were killed. Was this a reaction to Ocalan by PKK ’s senior officials or an organized response by PKK with Ocalan’s permission before the Turkish New Year (Newroz)?

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Is the Noose Tightening Around Qaddafi?

2210 GMT: In Egypt, actor and activist Aly Sobhy, whose detention we noted earlier today (see 1430 GMT), has been released.

Sobhy was seized by the military on Wednesday as he tried to get the names of protesters who had been detained in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

2130 GMT: Another video of today's mass pro-democracy march to Safriya Palace in Bahrain:

2020 GMT: Al Jazeera cameramen, Ali Hassan Al Jaber, has been killed after a crew of the Arabic-language channel was ambushed by regime forces near the town of Benghazi.

Reporter Nasser Al Haddar was also injured by a gunshot.

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Israel Analysis: International Pressure is Growing to Break "Deadlock"

With the Quartet (the US, Russia, European Union and United Nations) declaring that the deadlock in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is a threat to region's whole security and condemning Israel for its inaction following the end of 10-month freeze on settlement expansion in the West Bank; the circle around West Jerusalem is tightening.

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