Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Hunger Striker Alkhawaja Still Alive?

See also Bahrain Follow-Up: The Regime's PR Mission and Formula 1 Journalist Joe Saward
Turkey Live Coverage (26 April): From the Kurdish Language to Iranian Banks
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Shelling of a Damascus Suburb

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2028 GMT: The Local Coordination Committees in Syria claims 33 people have died across the country today, including 13 martyrs in Deir Ez Zor, 7in Aleppo Province, and 7 in Homs Province.

In addition, two bodies of people slain on Wednesday were reportedly thrown on a public road in Aleppo Province.

Protesters in Inshaat in Homs Province chant to Syria's President Assad: "Get lost!"

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Emergency Meetings

See also Morocco Feature: Has the Arab Spring Come and Gone?
Syria Video: The "Tell Bashar to Go" Protests --- Set 1
Syria Video: The "Tell Bashar to Go" Protests --- Set 2
Syria Feature: Anderson Cooper Smacks Down Assad's Ambassador
Syria Special: Torture, Intimidation Used to Deter Protests
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Pressure Outside, More Pressure Within

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01:48 GMT: We're closing the live blog for a bit, but will be up and running in (gulp) a few short hours.

James was about to sign off with a report that it is quiet in Tripoli now. However, Matthew Price, a correspondent in Tripoli, sent this tweet about 10 minutes ago:

It did go quiet for a bit but appears it was a lull. Sounds of heavy fire now and explosions

It's going to be a long night in Tripoli, and a long couple of days for the EA crew. But it's going to be a much longer few days for the Gaddafi regime, so stay tuned...

01:03 GMT: The Head of Political affairs for the National Transitional Council, Fathi Baja, gave a statement to Reuters:

"There is certain information tells that forces loyal to Gaddafi withdrew and left their weapons behind in areas outside Tripoli. And I think everything is in order in Tripoli, rebels are approaching al-Sareem Street nearby Babal-Azizia complex. Gaddafi may be coerced to flee if he managed to co-ordinate it with some countries, but I hopeto arrest him to be tried with his sons and his assistants in Libya"

00:56 GMT: This video, shared by Human Rights Watch's Nabeel Rajab, shows Bahraini soldiers firing tear gas, and possible rubber or live bullets, at protesters. We are unsure when this was taken, but it was posted to Youtube tonight. Also shared by Rajab, and posted by the same youtube account as the first, is a video that shows Bahraini security forces breaking into cars.

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Syria Snapshot: The Regime's Narrative of the Deaths in Jisr al-Shughour

We got a tour of the place with lots of press. The story is that the Syrian Military Intelligence (SMI) garrison was attacked and seized over the course of about 36 hours between 4 and 5 June. 500 “armed criminals” attacked. The detachment, about 72 people, was overrun when they ran out of ammo. The condition of the place was pretty consistent with an armed attack, though I don’t think it lasted that long and I think the garrison likely surrendered. The insurgents then took over the city, looting several gov’t buildings, esp the Palace of Justice and burning the files there, esp the criminal investigation records. These buildings were extensively damaged. No evidence of real damage in the rest of the town – I don’t think the military took it by force. They just rolled in.

There are people returning – we saw a convoy of what we were told was refugees returning from Turkey, waving Syrian flags and photos of the President. The city is still pretty devoid of people, but there are some shops open and people in the streets. They seem to get along with the soldiers, but that could have been staged for our benefit.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Cease-Fire?

2115 GMT: The New York Times summarises the context of the three-year sentence handed down today to blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad by an Egyptian military court.

And this is the post in March that got Nabil Sanad into trouble, as he queried whether the Egyptian military --- which he accused of torturing protesters --- was really on the side of the people.

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