Syria (and Beyond) Live: Regime Advances in Homs, But Insurgents Take Key Town

2008 GMT: Turkey/Syria. According to Turkish reports, weapons equipment was also found on the planes (updates below):

Turkish inspectors also found parts that could be used in missiles in the Syria-bound plane intercepted by Turkey.

— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) October 10, 2012

2003 GMT: Turkey/Syria. No weapons, but military communications equipment, we found on the plane detained by Turkey (see updates below), according to a Turkish journalist:

Turkey seizes military communication equipments in Syria-bound civilian plane and sends the plane to Damascus with passengers.

— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) October 10, 2012

1910 GMT: Syria. 164 people have been killed by the Assad regime so far today, according to the Local Coordination Committees:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Another Siege of Homs

2104 GMT: Syria. Parallel to the fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the regime is the relentless campaign of gunfire, shelling, and bombing that the citizens of Syria are subjected to on a daily basis by Assad forces. 140 people were killed today, according to the latest tally by the LCC, but that number will almost assuredly rise, as intense violence is reported in southern Damascus, and elsewhere across the country:

61 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs, including 25 unidentified martyrs found between Daraya and Qadam and 10 martyrs slaughtered by knives in Deir Asafeer; 24 in Aleppo; 14 in Deir Ezzor; 13 in Homs, 11 in Idlib; 10 martyrs in Hama; 5 martyrs in Daraa; and 2 martyrs in Lattakia.

But it's not all death in Syria. This video reportedly shows a large anti-government protest tonight in Almouda, Hasakeh governorate:

2056 GMT: Syria. How significant was the FSA victory in Ma'arrat al Nouman? Significant enough that they held a victory parade with their newly captured Syrian Army vehicles:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Car Bomb Outside Damascus Police Station

Scene of last night's car bomb in Damascus

Syria Opinion: Opposition Is Letting Down Residents in the East
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: On a "Slow" Saturday, 105 Die

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2055 GMT: Egypt. President Mohammed Morsi has said he will pardon all those arrested --- except persons charged with murder --- from the first day of the uprising against the Mubarak regime to June 2012, when Morsi took office.

Any decree could lead to the release of several thousand people.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Renewed Shelling of Homs

Claimed footage of shelling of the Khalidiya section of Homs in Syria this morning

See also Syria 1st-Hand: Who are the Al-Farouq Brigades?
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Anticipating A Friday of Protests and Clashes

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1900 GMT: Israel. The Israeli air force shot down a drone after it crossed into southern Israel on Saturday, military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said on Saturday.

It is unclear who despatched the aircraft, first spotted above the Mediterranean Sea in the area of the Gaza Strip to the west of Israel.

The drone was followed by Israeli air force jets, travelling east about 35 miles across Israel's southern Negev desert, before it was shot down in an unpopulated area near the border with the occupied West Bank about 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).

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MENA Audio Feature: Beginner's Guide to the Mohammad Film and the Violence --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

Demonstrators in Sudan set fire to the German Embassy on Friday

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I spoke with BBC WM yesterday afternoon about the US-produced film, "The Innocence of Muslims", that contributed to demonstrations and violence across North Africa and the Middle East. 

Looking at how the film emerged from badly-made trailer on the Internet to centre of controversy, I spoke with Paul Franks about deeper causes for the protests and clashes. Take-away line? While the confrontations are fuelled by anger at US foreign policy and actions and the planning of radical groups, the film was "throwing a cultural firebomb and standing back to watch the flames spread".

The item starts at the 1:10:10 mark.

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting Escalates in Aleppo and Damascus

Claimed footage of Free Syrian Army fighters inside the Hanano army barracks in Aleppo in Syria

See also Bahrain Video Discussion: The Conflict and the Regime's Public-Relations Effort
Egypt Feature: Who Speaks for the Workers?
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Shelling Returns to Damascus

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2020 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees report 172 people have been killed by security forces today, including 89 in Aleppo Province, 55 in Damascus and its suburbs, and 14 in Daraa Province.

State news agency SANA reports amnesty for "227 persons who were misled into getting involved in the recent events [and] whose hands are clean of the Syrians' blood...after pledging to not bear arms again".

According to SANA, some of those released said that they turned themselves in after realizing the scope of the conspiracy targeting Syria in implementation of foreign agendas".

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 10,000s March Outside Manama

Friday's mass march in Bahrain

See also Syria 1st-Hand: A Wanted Activist Restarts His Work from Washington
Will Israel Attack Iran? --- Daniella Peled and Scott Lucas on Monocle 24
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Insurgents Seize the Initiative

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2201 GMT: Syria. AFP reports on prisoners released today by the regime:

As they emerged from police headquarters in the Syrian capital on Saturday, several of the prisoners being set free had nothing on but their underwear, many were barefoot, and others had their heads shaven.

The backs of some still bore the tell-tale marks of beatings, while others had swollen limbs. Many had been missing for weeks or even months.

Civil servant Basil, 31, told AFP he had been on his way home with his wife and son to Zamalka, a rebel-held town northeast of Damascus, when the security forces arrested him because his ID card was broken....

Before they were freed from a stench-filled room in the police headquarters -- the detainees had been unable to wash ever since they were thrown into jail -- the men being released were made to fill out and sign a form.

"I declare that I was set free from police headquarters in Damascus on September 1, that I regret my action, and that I pledge not to take part in any more unauthorised demonstrations," the declaration stated.

Across the country, a total of 267 were released on Saturday, the authorities said. Of that number, 158 were set free from the Damascus police HQ.

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Lebanon Analysis: The Surge of Fighting in Tripoli --- Serious, But Not Out of Control (Nassif)

The latest clashes in Tripoli are being seen as a message related directly to the disturbances in Syria, but into which not too much should be read. They are not about to expand further, despite the heavy casualties, nor is this the last round in a long series. In context, they can be viewed as part of an expected, even normal, course of developments.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Damascus and Its Suburbs Hammered Again

Bahraini activist Ali Mushaimaa protests Thursday's visit by King Hamad to British Prime Minister David Cameron in London (Photo:Instagram)

See also Syria Snap Analysis: New Patterns in a Bloodier Conflict
Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Nationwide Battle

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1913 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordination Committees, an Al Jazeera reporter was wounded in the Saif al Dawla district of Aleppo:

1900 GMT: Syria. The fighting in Syria has crossed over the border into Iraq. This week, the Free Syrian Army made significant advances near al Bukamal, in the Deir Ez Zor region. In response to the FSA capturing several border crossing points, Syrian jet fighters reportedly attacked the border crossings, moving over Iraqi air space in the process.

Now, the LCC reports that Iraqi soldiers have also fired at Syrians near Al Bukamal.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Dark Day for Journalism

Video reportedly showing Free Syrian Army fighters engaged in combat in the Arqoub district of Aleppo (map)

See also Syria 1st-Hand: Clashes and Foreign Fighters in Aleppo
Monday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: End of a Red Ramadan

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0225 GMT: Lebanon. Seven people have been killed in a second night of fighting in the northern city of Tripoli.

Around 100 people have been wounded in the clashes, as gunmen in the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Alawite rivals in Jebel Mohsen continued to exchange gun and grenade fire, despite deployment by Lebanese troops.

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