Bahrain (and Beyond) Live: The Protests, the Opposition, and the Grand Prix

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1540 GMT: Egypt

Minister of Justice Ahmed Mekki has offered his resignation, a day after President Morsi had stated there would be a government reshuffle and two days after thousands of Islamist demonstrators calling for the "purging of the judiciary"

According to judicial sources, Mekki complained about the demonstrations in his resignation statement. He also condemned attempts, led by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party to amend the judicial authority law to decrease the retirement age of judges without taking their view on the issue.

The amendment would mean the forced retirement of more than 3,000 judges.

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Iran Propaganda Feature: Fars News Makes Up Interview with "Bahrain Opposition Leader"

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On Saturday, Fars News featured an interview with a "Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri", a Bahraini who extolled the Islamic Republic as a model for Muslims in the Middle East. Al-Jamri said that it was the late Ayatollah Khomeini who had first inspired the "Arab Awakening" with the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which had "brought revolutions to Muslims from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya to Yemen and Bahrain ".

But who is Sheikh Sadiq Kadhim Al-Jamri?

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Bahrain Interview: Talking with Members of the February 14 Coalition (Jones)

We are absolutely certain that eventually the Al-Khalifa regime will inevitably fall, that our revolution will be successful, and that we will gain our legitimate democratic rights. The revolution will result in the wellbeing of the Bahraini people, who have made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of living in freedom and with dignity, without the dictatorial Al-Khalifa regime, and to safeguard the rights of future generations.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad "We Will Crush Foreign-Backed Terrorism"

2156 GMT: A contact in Bahrain forwards us this poster, a planned opposition strike on March 15 to commemorate the anniversary of one of the bloodiest days of the revolution last year in Sitra village:

2145 GMT: We've been hearing rumors of clashes, possibly between the Free Syrian Army and Assad military, in and around Saqba. Earlier this hour (update 2100 GMT), the LCCS posted video which they said showed the gunfire. Now, the activist network ANA reports a large explosion and heavy gunfire in the Hamoraya district, north of Saqba (map).

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Deaths of The Journalists

The award-winning photograph from Libya by Remi Ochlik, who died on Wednesday in Syria

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Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Death of A Journalist

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2140 GMT: In Palmyra in Syria, a cameraman films a man firing a rocket-propelled grenade, which strikes far too close for comfort:

2120 GMT: Back from a break to find the report of the Local Coordination Councils of Syria that 101 people, including 14 children, died across the country today --- 47 in Idlib Province, 26 martyrs in Hama, nine in Deir Ez Zor, seven in Daraa, five in Quneitra, four in Homs, two in Raqqa, two in the Damascus suburbs, and one in Aleppo.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Shutting Out the Journalists

2203 GMT: Because the LCCS employees a strict verification system before it certifies a death in Syria, it appears that they are overwhelmed. Many sources say that in Homs and Zabadani, but particularly in Homs, it is nearly impossible to confirm the amount of dead and injured, because of the sheer number, and because of the ongoing violence. However, the Syrian General Revolutionary Council is reporting that at least 117 were killed nationwide on Wednesday, 93 of those deaths were in Homs, and 52 of those deaths were in the Baba Amr district alone.

2116 GMT: The LCCS reports large demonstrations in "the heart of Damascus" this evening. The Coalition of Free Damascenes for Peaceful Change has told a similar story, and has posted several videos of protests in and around Damascus. We have also discovered this video, uploaded by one of the most trusted opposition news networks, that reportedly shows a protest this evening in the Abu Habl district of Midan, near the center of Damascus. It is, according to activist SeekerSK, a primarily commercial area.

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Bahrain Analysis: Navigating a Rising Tide of Violence

Protesters chase security forces --- who had earlier dispersed a funeral, arresting youth and pushing away women --- out of AlEker village on Sunday

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Continued violations by the security apparatus suggest that the State’s talk of reform is disingenous. The Government are fully aware that continued repression will only antagonise the opposition, and contribute to the radicalisation of youth, whose adoption of violent tactics will create a subsequent desire for law and order to be restored. A similar situation was seen last year immediately after 15 March, where despite the presence of the Peninsula Shield, the Bahrain Defence Forces, and public security vigilantism took hold of Bahrain and generated considerable panic.

So not only does activist violence plays into the hands of the regime, but it also undermines attempts to garner broad-based popular support for a social movement, especially in a society where loyalties remain divided. This somewhat paradoxical situation underpins a conundrum faced by social movements around the world who are dealing with intransigent regimes. These regimes know that by using violence to radicalise opposition that might otherwise be peaceful, they are creating more violence, which simultaneously bolsters support for the regime amongst existing loyalists or moderates.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Newsflash --- "The Killings Continue"

2135 GMT: Zainab Alkhawaja provides details of this latest woman killed in Bahrain. According to her Twitter stream, the woman is named Fakhriya Jassim, 55 years old. She inhaled teargas in the town of Isa on New Year's Eve. According to Zainab:

Fakhriya's son says a day before she died his mother kept saying "this time the tear gas is different" she could barely talk. The night be4 being exposed to the teargas Fakhriya was fine, she went out shopping

She was the mother of 5 children, and had 10 grandchildren, according to alKhawaja.

We're still hearing rumors of more tear gas in Bahrain tonight.

2127 GMT: We've been tracking reports of teargas in Bahrain for the last hour or so, but not activists are reporting that a woman has died from teargas suffocation tonight. Said Yousif Almuhafda reports:

#Bahrain picture of fakhrya jassim alsakean who died today after sofecatung from tear gas .im with her family now

2050 GMT: This video was reportedly taken earlier today in Hama. Citizens talk to the Arab League observers, and one yells out, "They've massacred us."

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Bahrain Feature: The Freedom Torch Protests

The son of a victim of protest violence holds the Freedom Torch in Al Eker village on Friday night

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An EA correspondent in Bahrain reports that the 14 February Coalition has launched a new wave of protests --- "Freedom Torch":

According to a statement that been released by the opposition, there is a full week of activities with different kind of protests, from prayer night for the martyrs to human chains in villages. The most important one is the "Freedom Torch".

A torch will be taken around all Bahrain villages and ending in Sanabis, the nearest village to Pearl Roundabout/Martyrs Square, on 22 November, with celebrations of "the continuous fight for freedom and dignity" at each stop.

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