Open Letter to the Arab Spring: 10 Ways to Avoid US Mistakes (Cole)

The blood of your martyrs for revolution is too recent and too precious, and too often belonged to young people who sacrificed a bright future, for you to squander this once-in-a-century opportunity to put liberty and democracy on a firm foundation in your countries. You are young, and you still weep at the thought of freedom, and of those who died for it. You are having your weddings at Tahrir Square to celebrate a new beginning. Be careful. Be very careful. In my lifetime I have seen the American state spiral down into a brutal tyranny that tortures, spies, union-busts, engages in illegal wars, and plays dirty tricks on dissidents. We used to have something much more like a democracy. Maybe we can learn from you how to safeguard something so precious.

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Insurgents Advance, Resistance Continues

2106 GMT: The people of Sana'a, Yemen, protesting tonight in anticipation of more protests tomorrow:

Tonight's protests in the Qaboun district of Damascus, Syria:

2100 GMT: The people of Tahrir Square, Egypt, get ready for tomorrow's protests.

2040 GMT: The US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has traveled to the city of Hama and plans on spending the next 24+ hours with the protesters there. The State Department Spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, elaborates:

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Regime's Dilemma in Hama

Claimed footage of a protest last night in Hama, telling the President, "To Hell with You, Bashar"

2015 GMT: David Smith reports for The Guardian of London, "Tripoli: A Stronghold by Day, A Battleground at Night":

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are now regular night-time clashes in the Libyan capital. .

The raids have turned parts of Tripoli, a city with no shortage of privately owned firearms, into a no-go area after dark. The man, who said he has stocked up on diesel in readiness for "zero hour", added: "Normally wedding parties go on until 2am, but now they finish at 8pm. No one goes out after sunset. They all stay at home."

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Tunisia Snapshot: The Economic Fallout of the Uprising & Libya

Unemployed in Gafsa (August 2010)A few weeks before the month of Ramadan sets in, Tunisia faces the economic fallout of two very different recent events. The first happened nearly five months ago and swept General Zine el Abidine Ben Ali from power in a popular uprising which wrought minimum damage on the fabric of Tunisian farming, manufacturing and tourism infrastructure - indeed there were numerous instances of workers defending factories against marauders or Ben Ali's militia. The second has been in Libya, where the three month UN-authorised military intervention, formally led by NATO, in what had already become a civil war, has inflicted considerable damage to the country's infrastructure. The instability attendant to a prolonged military campaign in Libya presents a serious strategic threat to its northern neighbour, Tunisia.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Regime v. People with Rocks

2040 GMT: Claimed footage of protesters throwing stones at security forces in Hama today:

1700 GMT: Activists of the Local Coordination Committees of Syria claim the death toll in Hama today is now at least 13, including a 15-year-old boy.

The activists also claim 67 people are in hospital with serious injuries, with another 200 treated and discharged.

Among those reported killed are Ahmad Bitar, Emad Mohammad Khallouf, Baha Halbosy Nahar, Hasan Saraqbi, Mohammad Swaid, Foad Al Mukhallalati, Maher Sharabi, Mohammad Qasem Owair, Mahmoud Mahalle, Omar AlDalati, a martyr from Yousfan family, Omar Bahah and Bilal Mohammad (15 years old).

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Control or Retreat?

"Friday of Departure" in Syria: Protesters carry a massive flag through Assi Square, Hama.

See Also our Video Entry: Syria - Watching the Friday Protests - Set 1 and Set 2

1900 GMT: The New York Times reports that the Gaddafi regime lost hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funds managed by western banks.

Western companies were only allowed to deal with Libya between 2004 and 2011. This raises two, probably academic, questions: why did Western companies have such a bad track record with Libyan money, and if the rebels win can we thank them?

1816 GMT: Friday prayers on 60th Street in Sana'a, Yemen, once again turned into protests, as clerics leading the prayers called on Vice President Hadi to make more concessions to the demands of the opposition.

The UN fact-finding mission in Yemen is reporting that they have been granted access to protesters, and the government is cooperating with the mission. The team is expected to be finished with their investigation on July 6th.

1800 GMT: The LA times is reporting that the rebels are now within 50 miles from the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The rebels now occupy Bir Ghanam, halfway between Zintan and the large city of Aziziya. Rebels are concerned about potential civilian casualties in Aziziya, as they expect Gaddafi to use the civilians as human shields.

1742 GMT: Andy Carvin has uploaded a video to go with his report (below), showing a man injured in the violence in Tahrir Square.

1730 GMT: Though we're still updating and adding to the videos, our second set from today's protests in Syria is up and running. So far, we have video from Basr al Harir (south), Qamishli (northeast), Mayadin (east), Zabadani (southwest), Idlib in the northeast, and a massive demonstration in Assi Square in Hama.

1717 GMT: More from Andy Carvin, where violence has erupted in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Should the Opposition Join a "National Dialogue"?

2039 GMT: After the rebels have advanced near Zintan, capturing a series of underground bunkers south of the city and infusing fresh weapons into their ranks, destroying many Gaddafi heavy vehicles in the process, here is a map of the latest situation in Western Libya.

1925 GMT: As the BBC report we linked to earlier suggested, the Libyan rebels have captured a large weapons cache in the Nafusa Mountains, in western Libya. This infusion of weapons will bolster the rebel ranks, who often find themselves significantly outgunned:

"Long convoys of pickups and tractor trailer trucks could be seen streaming across the desert to the site after the fighting. They were loaded with rockets, ammunition, high-caliber guns and assault rifles before heading back to rebel-held cities. The insurgents also seized dozens of military vehicles at the site, which consisted of dozens of concrete storage mounds scattered across the desert."

Despite these gains, the final hour of the Gaddafi regime may still be a ways off:

1834 GMT: Women protest today on Dablan St, Homs, Syria:

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Grind of the Fight

Protesters in the Barzeh section of the Syrian capital Damascus are beaten and put in the trunks of cars (see 0615 GMT)

2040 GMT: A series of developments in Syria tonight after the meeting of opposition activists and intellectuals in Damascus....

About 200 people attended the discussion. Lawyer Louay Hussein, one of the organisers, declared, "The tyrannical regime in power must go. We are here to speak openly and freely. The political system may fall and we must work from now to prevent society from crumbling."

In a joint statement, the participants declared that they would be "part of Syria's peaceful uprising for freedom and democracy and pluralism to establish a democratic state through peaceful means".

However, some Syrians abroad rejected the initiative. "I think the people meeting today are grooming themselves to be a part of that, but they are independents so they don't represent any of the main opposition fronts and coalitions," said Anas al-Abdah, London-based head of the Damascus Declaration's "abroad chapter". The group, one of Syria's best-known opposition groups, boycotted Monday's meeting as it "convenes with the agreement and consent of the Syrian security services".

Syrian authorities have set a date for a "national dialogue" beginning 10 July.

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Libya Feature: Insurgent Victory in the Western Mountains? (Kirkpatrick)

Until a few weeks ago, the rebellious towns in the Nafusah Mountains were struggling to survive on dwindling supplies of barley, water and gas during a long siege by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s soldiers.

But after an improbable series of military victories over the past three weeks — with fewer than 100 rebel fighters killed, their military leaders say — residents of a broad area in this mountain region are celebrating virtual secession from Colonel Qaddafi’s Libya. While there have been defeats, and the Grad rockets of Colonel Qaddafi’s forces still menace the outskirts of Nalut near the Tunisian border and Yafran to the east, rebels point hopefully to the growing stability of the towns under their control as evidence of how tenuous Colonel Qaddafi’s grip may be.

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Syria, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Marches of the 10,000s

Claimed footage of a funeral procession in the Damascus suburb of Al Kiswah in Syria for a protester killed by security forces on Friday

2005 GMT: Activists say the Syrian military has occupied another village in northwest Syria near the border with Turkey.

Troops and tanks moved into Najia today. The village is near Jisr al-Shughour, the flashpoint town cleared out by the military after dozens of people --- activists says civilians, the regime says security forces --- were killed in clashes.

The military also reportedly moved into Qusair near the Lebanese border.

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