Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: On a "Slow" Saturday, 105 Die

Refugees on the Syrian-Turkish border

Libya Event: Literature and Life After Qaddafi --- Three Authors at the Birmingham Book Festival
Jordan Video Discussion: An Escalation of Tension?
Syria Feature: A Movement Trying to Bridge the Sectarian Divide
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Renewed Shelling of Homs

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2047 GMT: Libya. Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur failed a vote of confidence by an overwhelming margin on Sunday, removing him from office.

The Government may remain without permanent, democratically-elected leadership for some time, while a new Prime Minister assembles a Cabinet.

Abushagur was rejected by 125 of 200 members of the Libyan General National Congress, with 44 supporting him and the remainder abstentions or no-shows. Abushagur, criticised last week for proposing a Cabinet that critics said was filled with political unknowns, presented a new slate today.

“Your terms contradict my values and terms for forming my cabinet,” Abushagur told the legislature before the vote. “I’m not going to submit to your conditions.”

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Several Hundred Bodies" After Regime Offensive in Darayya

See also Iraq Feature: The Critical Issue of Succession in Kurdistan
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Deaths, More than 200,000 Refugees

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1658 GMT: Bahrain. For the second time in four months, prominent activist Maryam Alkhawaja is being held at Cairo airport and denied entry. Alkhawaja, the international representative of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been providing a running report via Twitter:

Saying order is from intelligence and reson is "top secret" as to y im not allowed in #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

Theyre putting me under observation with the police cuz im insisting on knowing y im not allowed into #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

They want me to sign docs and im refusing, told them i want lawyer @amr_imam present #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Surge in Protest, A Constant Shelling

Saturday's funeral march for Hussam Alhadad in Bahrain

See also Bahrain Special: The Killing of Hussam AlHaddad and the Unanswered Questions
Bahrain Interview: Activist Said Yousif on His Beating and Detention
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "This is What Aleppo Has Become"

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2020 GMT: Syria. The most interesting reports from the LCC today involve Lattakia, Syria's premier port city which is often considered the heart of Assad's power and from where the President's family hails. The city is majority Sunni, with a sizable population of Alawites, Christians, and other minorities, and the rural areas are even more diverse.

We have seen protests and violence in the mountains far to the east, but it has been a long time since there has been this much violence in the city itself. According to some activists, there were post-prayer protests today, disrupted by security forces. According to the LCC, the Qunainis district (map), in the centre of the city, was stormed by security forces who sealed off the neighborhood and made many arrests.

The LCC also reports violence in the Maroniate village to the east (map). The village was reportedly shelled, and this video claims to show damage to the local mosque:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "This is What Aleppo Has Become"

Saleh ed Dine in Aleppo in Syria on Friday

See also Syria Video Feature: Re-Visiting the Mass Killing in Houla
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Almost 25,000 Dead as the United Nations Departs

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1915 GMT: Syria. Claimed footage of a demonstration today in central Damascus:

1715 GMT: Bahrain. The funeral procession for Hussam Alhamad, killed overnight by police amid clashes in Muharraq:

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Expecting Defiance, Watching for Defections

See also See also Syria Video Special: Friday's Protests of Defiance --- Set 3
Syria Video Special: Friday's Protests of Defiance --- Set 2
Syria Video Special: Friday's Protests of Defiance --- Set 1
Syria Feature: Defecting Military Officers Tell Their Stories
Egypt Opinion: "Lest We Forget" Why the Revolution Is Worthwhile
Israel Mystery: Who Carried out the Bus Attack in Eilat?
Syria Special: Syrian Ambassador to US Responds to Accusations
Thursday's Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: Protests in Homs Defy Violence

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2045 GMT: Another clip of the mass rally, organised by the opposition party Al Wefaq (see 1629 GMT), in Bahrain today:

2012 GMT: Protesters have removed most of the wall around the Israeli embassy in Cairo and a protester has once again scaled the 15-story building in order to remove the Israeli flag.

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