As the song goes, "Peace sells, but who's buying?" The United Nations this UN peace agreement just bides time for all parties involved. With every passing day of that biding-time, more people die, more people protest, and the conflict appears to be further away from resolution, not closer.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 11:22 | Ali Yenidunya in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
1845 GMT: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi reportedly said that Iran was ready to share its experience on nuclear energy with Turkey.
As mentioned earlier, at the Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, Erdogan said that Turkey was determined to provide about 10% of its electricity from nuclear facilities by 2030.
1800 GMT: Due to Iranian President Ahmadinejad's suffering from gastrorrhagia, the scheduled meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan postponed.
1645 GMT: The co-chairman of BDP, Selahattin Demirtas is speaking to Turkish HaberTurk channel now. When asked what BDP's role in the Kurdish problem, Demirtas said that BDP can only facilitate the solution of the problem yet it can only be solved between the government and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) at the end of the day. Therefore, Demirtas argued that sidelining Kandil and dialogue with the outlawed organisation would produce nothing.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 10:37 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran A demonstration in front of the Grand Mosque in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Tuesday night
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2110 GMT: Kuwaiti authorities arrested a man late on Tuesday for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed on his Twitter account.
The man, whose name was not disclosed, defamed the Islamic faith and slandered the Prophet Mohammed, his companions and his wife, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement issued on state-run news agency KUNA. He is being interrogated ahead of court proceedings.
The ministry saiid that it “regretted the abusing of social networks by some individuals to offend basic Islamic and spiritual values, vowing to show zero tolerance in combating such serious offences”.
In September a Kuwaiti court convicted a man for insulting Gulf rulers and posting inflammatory sectarian comments on social media, but he was released immediately because of time already served while awaiting trial.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 6:12 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran A video illustrating that, despite reports of juveniles tried in military courts (see 0847 GMT), all Egyptian children love the ruling armed forces
2040 GMT: According to the Locall Co-ordinating Committees of Syria, the Assad military has begun an assault on the town of Saraqeb in Idlib Province:
Idlib:Saraqeb: The regime's army continues to encircle the city amid a widespread deployment of tanks in the southern part, where continuous gunfire and explosions were reported. The regime's army has also surrounded hospitals to deny entry to the wounded; this led residents to treat the wounded in field hospitals along the city's perimeter. Electricity is still cut off for the fourth consecutive day.
The regime's arrest campaigns are still ongoing as well, and the number of detainees is now in the hundreds. Moreover, residents cannot bury the martyrs who fell during the days-long regime siege on Saraqeb because of the continuous shelling and bombardment. The random shelling has also damaged the Information Office, which therefore cannot post any videos that document the harsh reality in the area
Protesting women greet armoured personnel carriers with peace signs; police respond with sound grenades
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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: This is "Peace" --- Another 90 Die
1818 GMT: The Local Co-ordination Committees of Syria claims that 45 people have died today, including three women and four children. Twenty-four of the deaths were in Homs, where several neighbourhoods are being shelled, and 13 in Idlib, where regime forces have moved into the Saraqeb district.
1641 GMT: Andrew Hammond of Reuters writes, amidst reports of widespread use of tear gas by Bahrain's security forces:
back after Sitra. all i can say is that was really insane. cld have been worse too if media hadnt been around
— Andrew Hammond (@Hammonda1) March 24, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 21:45 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Mass protest in Jarjanaz in Idlib Province in northwest Syria today
2130 GMT: A disturbing close to our coverage today --- footage has been posted claiming to be of women executed by regime "shabiha" (plainclothes forces) in Addawia in Homs in Syria.
2057 GMT: An evening demonstration in Kharab Al-Shaham in Daraa Province in southern Syria:
1931 GMT: Another video reportedly shows the shelling in Homs today. This was reportedly taken in the Hamidiya district, in the center of Homs:
1918 GMT: According to the LCCS, the death toll today has risen to 80, including 14 children:
In Homs city, there were 42 martyrs, 11 in Hama, 6 in Daraa, 9 in Idlib including one family from Kasanfra town),7 in Deir Ezzor and one martyr in each of Raqqa,Lattakia, Damascus Suburbs (Moudamieh) and a defected recruit from the Occupied Golan who was martyred in Hama.
Egypt, Khader Adnan, Kofi Annan, Sabri Ahmed, Syria Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 13:22 | Ali Yenidunya in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
1845 GMT: Turkey is getting ready to sue Iran for its relatively high natural gas price. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said: "The road to arbitration is being paved on March 16, and we will not wait for too long after that to file our complaint."
Turkey currently buys a cubic meter of Azerbaijani gas for $330 and pays Russia $400 for the same amount. However, Iran sells its gas to Turkey for $505 for each cubic meter.
Turkey is reportedly going to take the issue to the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, which awarded Turkey $800 million in compensation in 2009 in a previous dispute with Iran.
1730 GMT: Retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, who has been receiving medical support since he was first arrested as a Sledgehammer suspect in 2011, was arrested by a Turkish court today.
The case of Sledgehammer suspects, a clique inside the military, are being accused of carrying out anti-government plans to overthrow the AKP government. Crashing jets, bombing mosques during a busy hour of the day are just some of the accusations.
1645 GMT: State-run Anatolia news agency reported that at least 765 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed into Turkey since Tuesday night. It is reported that Turkey currently hosts nearly 14,000 Syrian refugees in its Hatay district.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 10:28 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2024 GMT: We've been discussing a video on Twitter with several prominent activists that claims to show soldiers from the Free Syrian Army using a guided missile to destroy a T-72 tank in a convoy near Qalaat al Madiq, a besieged city in Hama province.
In which a #FSA soldier destroys a regime tank using an Anti-Tank missile - youtube.com/watch?v=LD2Eo6… #Mar15
— Fadi Mqayed ★★★ (@DSyrer) March 14, 2012
We'd note that the town of Qalaat al Madiq has been shelled by tanks for several days, and there are reports that a historic castle in the city has partially collapsed. While there are also rumors of FSA activity there, we have not been able to verify reports that the Free Syrian Army has successfully destroyed any tanks belonging to the regime.
2016 GMT: Saudi Arabia has closed its embassy in Syria and has withdrawn all embassy staff.
2100 GMT: Hayrettin Ayoglu, a 75-year old Turkish citizen was killed by Syrian border soldiers' fire while himself and the driver were approaching to cross the border. The driver didn't stop and drove to Kilis province of Turkey. Ayoglu was not saved in Kilis Hospital. It is also reported that another car was targeted by Syrian soldiers in the evening but no one was hurt.
2030 GMT: George Sabra, a spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Council, told a news conference in Istanbul said that they had already decided to arm the Free Syrian Army and added that some foreign governments were helping to send weapons.
However, despite of these, Sabra called on Arab and Western governments to intervene militarily and to protect civilians through imposing a no-fly zone across all of Syria and establishing secured humanitarian corridors. Sabra continued:
The Syrian National Council has taken concrete and practical decisions to arm Free Syrian Army that is established to protect the civilians. And we invite all colonels and other military officials in the Syrian army to take sides with the people of Syria.
BDP, European Union, Israel, Kofi Annan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Syria, Turkey 
