Bahrain, Yemen, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Trouble in the Villages

Claimed footage of police breaking into a parked car in Bahrain on Friday, possibly taking items from inside the vehicle

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2025 GMT: Bahraini authorities have said they will hold a second round of by-elections on 1 October in nine of the Parliamentary constituencies where voting took place on Saturday.

The authorities said no candidate had won 50% of the vote in the first round in the constituencies.

The second-round ballots will be another test of political strength after the low turnout of 17.4%, amidst a boycott by the opposition Al Wefaq party, on Saturday.

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The Latest from Iran (27 July): Foreign Manoeuvres

1755 GMT: Border Watch. Iranian state media are reporting that two Revolutionary Guards and 21 Kurdish insurgents have died in further fighting near the Iraq border. Two Guards were reportedly wounded in the clash in the city of Sardasht.

A senior Revolutionary Guards commander and five troops were killed in fighting earlier this week. Iranian officials say at least 50 members of the insurgent group PJAK have died in the battles over the last fortnight.

1535 GMT: Cyber-Watch. An official of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has explained that linking to social networks is a "computer crime".

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Libya, Syria, Jordan (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Beat of Fighting, A Promise of Reform

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.

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Saudi Arabia Follow-Up: Manal al-Sharif Forced to Quit Women2Drive Campaign

Yesterday we reported that Manal al-Sharif, who not only defied Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving but also posted a YouTube video of herself behind the wheel to inspire others, had been released after nine days in detention.

Now it appears that the price for al-Sharif's freedom is her promise of self-imposed silence.

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Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Ceasefire?

2055 GMT: Another clip of protest in Morocco today --- at the end of the footage, the marchers flee from security forces:

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Islam and Women Videos: Manal al-Sharif, Arrested by Saudi Arabia for Driving

UPDATE 1220 GMT: Manal al-Sharif has reportedly been sentenced to five days in prison for bypassing rules and regulations, driving a car within the city, enabling a journalist to interview her while driving a car, deliberately disseminating the incident to the media, inciting Saudi women to drive cars, and turning public opinion against the regulations.

Al-Sharif's lawyer has not confirmed the sentence.

Human rights activist Waleed Abu Alkhair, has posted a petition to King Abdullah on al-Sharif's behalf.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Defiances

1915 GMT: More confusion over the situation of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak....

Egyptian State TV is reporting that Mubarak suffered a heart attack during questioning over corruption charges. However, the prosecutor's office has denied that Mubarak was interviewed today.

Mubarak was hospitalized at Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital, state media reported.

1855 GMT: Bahraini officials are claiming that three shotguns and Molotov cocktails were found in a mosque in Malikiya today.

1850 GMT: Claimed footage of an anti-regime protest in Syria today:

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Slow Build-Up

2005 GMT: Two clips of demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, with a large Shi'a population, in support of the uprising in Bahrain:

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Bahrain: US Secretary of Defense Gates Forgets to Ask About The Repression

If true, this passage from US Secretary of State Robert Gates' account of his meeting on Wednesday with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is telling:

SEC. GATES: We had a very good meeting. We met for about an hour and a half, one-on-one. It was an extremely cordial warm meeting. I think the relationship is in a good place. We talked about developments all over the region. We obviously talked about Iran....

Q. Did you talk about the Saudi troops in Bahrain? Did you raise that as an issue?

SEC. GATES: No.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Coalition Too Slow?

2025 GMT: Opposition forces say that there was fighting on three fronts in Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, with shelling by regime troops and at least one resident killed.

2020 GMT: Egypt's Health Ministry has raised the death toll in the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak to more than 800, well over double the previous estimate of 384.

The ministry said another 6400 people had been injured.

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