Last night's protest in Ma'arat Numan in Idlib Province in Syria
1854 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Houla in Homs Province in Syria today:
And a rally in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh:
The process of applying for a visa to visit another country has become more costly and more risky. It can involve several trips across borders to visit embassies in Amman or Beirut.
The main road to Jordan has become dangerous with frequent assaults and the destruction of the bridge on the Deraa motorway that connects Damascus to Amman. Many Syrian men have reported that they have been turned back at the border for no specific reason. Travelling to Beirut is a bit safer for now, but also involves uncertainties because the roads can be blocked at any time.
Jasmine Roman, Jordan, Syria, The National Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:37 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2152 GMT: Another clip of the occupation of the Kuwaiti Parliament tonight:
2042 GMT: In Kuwait, after months of discontent at the lack of reform and the failure to seriously tackle corruption, 20 opposition members of parliament boycotted a parliamentary session earlier today. In the evening, thousands of protesters descended on the Parliament building. AFP reports:
Thousands of Kuwaitis stormed Parliament on Wednesday after police and elite forces beat up protesters marching on the Prime Minister's home to demand he resign, an opposition MP said.
"Now, we have entered the house of the people," said Mussallam al-Barrak, who led the protest along with several other lawmakers and youth activists also calling for the dissolution of Parliament over alleged corruption.
The demonstrators broke open parliament's gates and entered the main chamber, where they sang the national anthem and then left after a few minutes.
The police had used batons to prevent protesters from marching to the residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, after staging a rally outside parliament.
Video of the occupation of the Parliament building has been posted. In this clip, occupiers sing as they move into the building:
Protesters are reported to have now moved into Erada Square --- a man raises the Kuwaiti flag:
The background to tonight's development, from the Kuwait Times:
In one of the most "exciting" political dramas in Kuwait, the government and its supporters in the National Assembly succeeded in scrapping a grilling against the prime minister, but the opposition immediately filed a fresh quiz, setting the stage for a fierce confrontation.Several opposition MPs meanwhile warned the government that popular anger was growing rapidly and could explode anytime if the government insisted on protecting the prime minister against grillings.
The drama began when Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi put for debate a government request to scrap a grilling filed against prime minister in March by MPs Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Abdulrahman Al-Anjari, claiming that it is unconstitutional following a constitutional court ruling last month.
The court said in a controversial ruling that the prime minister cannot be grilled for violations committed by his ministers and he can only be questioned for issues under his direct authority.
Bahrain, Bashar al-Assad, Jordan, Syria 
Monarchs at the Gulf Co-operation CouncilThe transformation of Arab monarchies into constitutional systems is a matter ofwhen rather than if. The alternative may be less appealing to those in power today. On a recent visit to Boston in which I met a number of Arab Gulf states students, the debate veered, as it tends to do nowadays, towards Arab constitutional monarchies. To my surprise it was a Qatari, a citizen of by far the richest county on earth often accused of political apathy who remarked to a friend and I, “I don’t agree with constitutional monarchies,” he paused, “I want nothing less than a republic.”
Without urgent non-cosmetic reform the Arab monarchies will simply be kicking the reform ball forward.
We have been documenting the human cost of the crisis in Syria, and beyond, but in the end, the economic cost of the Arab Spring may be a major driving factor in social and political change in the region. Ibrahim Saif, an analyst with the Carnegie Middle East Center, writes on the LA's Times blog, Babylon & Beyond:;)
Protest in Amman, January 2011Since January, when Jordan’s protest movement started holding regular demonstrations, the marches have grown, and persisted, but have never reached a critical mass. Hobbled by infighting and outflanked by King Abdullah II and his security forces, the protesters keep calling for greater freedoms and an end to corruption, but remain frustrated that their regular gatherings — sometimes only two-hour affairs — have hastened no real change.
Their quandary was illustrated in the demonstrations this past weekend here in Amman. On Friday, riot police officers beat demonstrators trying to stage a sit-in during clashes that spilled into a busy market district.
Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 18:14 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Claimed footage of protest today in Idlib Province in northwest Syria
1715 GMT: Libyan insurgents carried out a late-night reconnaissance raid on Friday on the oil port of Brega in north-central Libya.
An opposition military spokesman said a light mobile force of about 50 troops had breached regime positions before pulling back for a hoped-for offensive early on Saturday.
The insurgents held Brega for weeks in the spring before it was retaken by Muammar Qaddafi's forces.
The opposition troops had reportedly tried to dispose of more than 150 landmines found outside the town, to make way for heavy artillery, but the assault left at least 10 dead and 172 wounded, according to medics.
This was a very interesting video to watch. It is perhaps the first time I have heard the King speak to a local audience about a “national vision” (which in Jordan translates to “royal vision”) that states the end goal as being an elected government. All the magic words are reiterated. Democracy. Dialog. Constitution. Freedom. Reform. Combating corruption. Media. Institutions.
We have been given royal visions before. This is obviously no secret. In fact, these visions are very public. Never have I personally heard that vision to include an elected government, so in some way, it is important to have this on the record. If anything than for the sake of being able to tell others “see, I told you so”, as it seems many are convinced that the King does not support giving up his political powers for an elected government. What this speech, and others that have been given by the King in recent weeks seem to outline is the dawn of a new Jordan. They are designed to breathe hope into a decaying political and social arena.
But then comes the quintessential question: will any of this be realized?
Monday, June 13, 2011 at 10:15 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
1940 GMT: A witness has said six rockets hit an oil refinery near the port of the opposiiton-controlled Libyan city of Misurata.
The rockets appeared to have hit the refinery's power generators and did not strike storage facilities.
1935 GMT: Back after an extended academic break to note that 11 male doctors went on trial today in Bahrain, accused of taking control of a hospital during anti-regime protests, storing weapons, and detaining people.
One of the doctors tried to tell the judge that his confession had been extracted under torture, but the judge told him to stop and that he would be able to give evidence later in the trial.
Defense lawyers asked for civilian doctors to examine their clients, who have only been seen by military medical staff. The judge agreed and adjourned the until next week; he denied a request from some defense lawyers that the doctors be released while the trial is ongoing.
The 11 doctors are among 47 medical staff facing trials.
King Abdullah IIThe Jordanian regime now faces a crucial juncture. Bloggers and journalists warn of the possibility of civil conflict unless the palace shifts course and negotiates with, rather than patronizes, its critics. However, King Abdullah has only offered another open-ended promise for considering reforms through the National Dialogue Committee, whose remaining members are bitterly arguing whether to take the king's word seriously anymore. Bakhit seems to be in little danger of losing his job, and parliament has predictably rejected any initiative to review, much less curtail, the crown's constitutional supremacy. At the same time, pro-government loyalists will assuredly attack opposition groups again, who now have little incentive to moderate their position and put faith in dialogue. The March 24 Shabab have already promised to return to the streets this Friday, heightening social tensions. If they are assaulted once again, tragedy could ensue.
