Egypt 1st-Hand: "Do I Now Regret Voting for Morsi? No."

Montage of protests against President Morsi on Friday and Saturday

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I voted for Morsi last June, not because I liked him, but because I did not want [former Prime Minister Ahmed] Shafiq to win. Now, after Morsi’s decisions yesterday --- which I am suspicious about and do not really support --- and what is going on in Tahrir right now, do I regret voting for him? Well, no, I don’t regret my vote. Why? Because if Shafiq won in June, it would have been worse. No one would have been allowed to demonstrate in Tahrir or in any other place in Egypt. And Shafiq would have grabbed power with the help of the SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Froces]. And the terrible train crash of last Saturday would have occurred anyway, but Amr Adeeb, the famous news commentator, would have not dared to say that President Shafiq is a failure like he said about Morsi.

At least, under Morsi, the January 25 movement still has power.

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Egypt Feature: Mubarak-Era Officials "Retain Millions of Pounds" of Assets in Britain (Shenker)

Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's ousted former president, was sentenced to life in jail in June. A six-month investigation, conducted by BBC Arabic and released in conjunction with the Guardian and al-Hayat, a pan-Arab newspaper, has identified many valuable assets linked to his family and their associates that have not been frozen.

These include luxury houses in Chelsea and Knightsbridge and companies registered in central London. One member of Mubarak's inner circle has even been permitted to set up a UK-based business in recent months, despite being named on a British Treasury sanctions list of Egyptians who are linked to misappropriated assets and subject to an asset-freeze.

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Turkey Opinion: Ankara's Uncertain Strategy in the Middle East (Stein)

Defected Syrian General Manaf Tlass & Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu, 26 July 2012The Arab uprisings have complicated Turkey’s approach to the Middle East. Both long before and after the dynamic events of the last 18 months began, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s AKP was looked at as a model to emulate by many in the Middle East and the non-Arab world. Buoyed by strong poll numbers, a growing economy, and a record of democratic reform, there was a consensus that Erdogan himself would be the face of a new democratic Middle East. For now, the prime minister seems to enjoy playing the role of regional demagogue promising great things and standing up to Israel. But can it last? Or will fundamental antagonisms lead to tension between Turkey and the region in the future?

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Mubarak Not Quite "Clinically Dead"; 50+ Very Dead in Syria

1610 GMT: Syria. There are a series of reports of heavy shelling, air strikes, and gunfire in a series of towns in Daraa province, including: Daael, Nawa, Tel Shehab, and Mezayrib. Putting them all our map of the day's events, and a clear pattern is formed, that the cluster of towns just north of Daraa city are seeing a large-scale military campaign today. In Daael alone more than 50 injuries, and at least 3 deaths, are reported. This video reportedly shows an assault helicopter attacking ground targets in the city:

The LCCS provides a possible clue - there is a report of heavy fighting between the Free Syrian Army and regime forces in Nawa. The question is - did the FSA attack the regime, sparking the military campaign, or are they simply responding to an Assad attack?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: So It's Now a "Civil War"

LiveStream of Wednesday's shelling of Homs in Syria

See also Syria Document: UN Report on Regime's Abuses of Children
Iraq Latest: At Least 44 Killed as Bombs Target Pilgrims and Police
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 109 Killed Amid Reports of "Children as Human Shields" and a "Plainclothes Army"

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2105 GMT: Bahrain. Not only was a 5-year-old boy shot by police tonight, but his father was also injured, according to activists:

The 51 yr old fathers body is filled with pellets, they are in his thigh, stomach and arms #bahrain twitpic.com/9w3syy

— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) June 13, 2012

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: President Assad's "Real War"

2027 GMT: Syria. All day there have been reports that multiple towns across Daraa province have been heavily attacked by the Syrian military. Now, those reports continue to come in, despite the late hour. Let's sort the reports.

There are reports that Tafas has been subjected to heavy machine-gun fire coming from various outposts and checkpoints controlled by the Syrian military.

Yesterday, videos reportedly showed large fields of crops that were lit on fire by "shabiha," paramilitary supporters of the Assad regime.

Earlier there were reports of wounded and dead in El Naymah, closer to Daraa city. Earlier videos showed tanks rolling through the town and heavy gunfire ringing out, reportedly from dug-in army positions:

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protest Renewed in Cairo, Ever-Present Beyond Damascus

Al Jazeera English on Saturday's events in Egypt, from the sentencing of former President Mubarak to mass protests

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand: "I Was Tortured by Prince Nasser"
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Largest Protests Ever?

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2025 GMT: Libya. Members of an elite unit set up by the Government to rein in militias have been accused of kidnapping and severely beating a prominent surgeons.

Salem Forjani, a heart surgeon working for the Ministry of Health, was seized on 17 May when he went to Tripoli Medical Centre to carry out the Ministry's order to remove the director, who was accused of links with the Qaddafi regime.

Instead, Forjani was confronted by members of the Government's Supreme Security Committee, who dragged Forjani through the hospital, beating him unconscious in front of the staff.

A fellow medic photographed Forjani being carried, shirtless and spreadeagled, down the hospital's ambulance ramp while an SSC soldier threatened to shoot unarmed hospital security staff giving chase.

The SSC troops bundled the doctor into a car and incarcerated him in a base at Naklia, a suburb of Tripoli, where he was beaten and kicked so hard in the groin that he was left with a ruptured testicle. For five days neither his family nor the Ministry of Health could find him or get confirmation that he was still alive.

Finally, after Forjani had been moved to a second facility, at Tripoli's Mitiga Airport, the SSC contacted the Ministry and released him.

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Egypt Live Coverage: Former President Mubarak Learns His Fate

Tahrir Square in Cairo tonight

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Largest Protests Ever?

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2100 GMT: State TV is reporting at least 61 people injured in clashes today.

2000 GMT: Egyptian football supporters, known as "Ultras", have been part of the uprising and protests since January 2011. They were in Tahrir Square again tonight:

And in the Sinai Peninsula, a march in Arish:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Condemns Houla "Massacre"...As Assad's Forces Shell Hama

See also Syria Opinion: If the Houla Massacre Isn't a Turning Point....
Bahrain Live Coverage: Activist Nabeel Rajab Released from Detention
Turkey Live Coverage (28 May): Erdogan's Dilemma on the Kurdish Problem
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: After the Houla "Massacre", Another 60 Deaths

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2130 GMT: Egypt. Protests have reportedly spread to the headquarters of Presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, which has been set on fire:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: After the Houla "Massacre", Another 60 Deaths

A rally in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Saturday night with a message about the Houla "masscare", "These are our martyrs, we will never forget them"

See also Bahrain Live Coverage: Regime on Human Rights "You Are Biased. P.S. We'll Sue You"
Saturday's Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 50 Die in Houla; A Presidential Run-Off in Cairo

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2200 GMT: Syria. The Local Co-ordination Committees of Syria say 51 people have died today, including 11 children, four women and six defected soldiers

The toll is likely to increase if the death toll from today's shelling of Hama is as high as feared --- so far the LCCS only claim 25 slain in Hama Province.

2034 GMT: Syria. Activists are reporting on social media tonight that at least thirty people have been killed in regime shelling of Hama.

Opposition sources said the shelling began in the morning on areas near the northern entrance of the city, after a series of insurgent attacks on army roadblocks in the city, and resumed in the evening on the southern al-Malaab district.

Footage has been posted of some of the victims (Warning: Graphic).

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