Monday, May 30, 2011 at 8:49 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2020 GMT: A series of claimed videos to close the evening:
A march following two funerals in the Souq al Jomaa district of Tripoli in Libya:
A candlelit march in Sanabis in Bahrain:
Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 13:38 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2110 GMT: Protest in Homs in Syria in memory of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb (see 1625 GMT):
2105 GMT: Refuting earlier reports, Yemeni opposition tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar has said that no truce has been reached between his tribe and President Saleh's forces.
It’s one thing for a football fan to call a player a donkey. But it’s another altogether to dress an ass in the footballer’s replica shirt. Especially when the player heads the national football federation and is the son of the country’s dictator, who in fury sentences three of the fans to death and razes the team’s stadium and clubhouse.
“Nowhere in the world could this happen,” said Khalid Agory, who writes for the website of Al-Ahly Benghazi, one of Libya‘s top football teams. “Except in Libya.”
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:38 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2145 GMT: The Egyptian regime has appointed former Assistant Foreign Minister Hani Khalaf as the special envoy to the Libyan opposition in Benghazi.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby said the decision follwed Egypt's determination to follow up on developments in Libya and ensure the safety and rights of Egyptian citizens in the country.
2140 GMT: Claimed video of a protest in Daraa in southern Syria today:
2130 GMT: Fighting continues tonight in Yemen's capital Sana'a, in the Hasaba neighbourhood and near the airport.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 13:21 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Sounds and images of Monday's battle in Sanaa in Yemen (see 0500 GMT):
2040 GMT: Yemeni officials say 38 people have died in the clashes in the capital Sanaa, 24 from the regime's security forces and 14 supporters of tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar.
1915 GMT: Thanks to James Miller for taking the LiveBlog through the afternoon.
Reports from Yemen indicate that supporters of the tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar now control the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education buildings.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 10:47 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2130 GMT: After his refusal to sign a deal for transition of power, Yemen's President Saleh has telephoned Gulf leaders, including the heads of the Saudi, Bahraini, Kuwaiti, and Omani regimes.
Saleh blamed the opposition Joint Meeting Parties for the stalemate, saying they refused to sign the Gulf-brokered initiative "within the framework of transparency and openness".
The JMP had signed the agreement on Saturday night but balked at Saleh's insistence that they come to the Presidential Palace and sign again.
Saleh told the Gulf leaders that he was still ready to accept the initiative.
1955 GMT: Security forces charge a pro-reform demonstration in Tangier in Morocco today:
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 10:45 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2015 GMT: Associated Press reports that NATO warplanes have bombed command centres near Tripoli and in Libya's southwest, trying to cut communications links between the Qaddafi regime and his battlefield units.
2005 GMT: Video of a protest in Idlib in Syria during the funeral of a demonstrator killed on Friday:
Friday, May 20, 2011 at 16:44 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2105 GMT: Protestors in the far eastern town of Albou Kamal, on Syria's border with Iraq, have reportedly have set fire to offices of the ruling Baath Party.
A tribal leader said, "People want to overthrow the regime. There can be no dialogue with tanks and soldiers, no dialogue with security men who kill, arrest and smash the homes of civilians. We want democracy and freedom. We want to feel we are real citizens, not numbers."
Friday, May 20, 2011 at 8:21 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Little new was said in this speech, despite the hype. Negotiations between the US and other nations, especially on issues as complicated at Israel and Palestine, do not happen in a public forum in a 40-minute address. This moment at the podium is unlikely to have a huge effect on how the international community, or the Middle East, views Obama.
Instead, the President was looking at many of the Republicans who have vowed to block him at every turn, many Democrats who are frustrated with the lack of progress in his foreign policy, and many Americans who are scared of what they do not understand, namely a rapidly-changing political situation in the Middle East.
Barack Obama, Israel, John McCain, Libya, Palestine Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 22:10 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 2100 GMT: Claimed video of a demonstration in Homs tonight, "The people want to topple the regime":
2040 GMT: A day after balking at an agreement to transfer power, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said --- through a spokesman --- that he will sign the arrangement.
Spokesman Ahmed al-Sufi said Saleh will accept Sunday during the celebration of Yemen National Day at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa. Al-Sufi said Abdul-Latif al-Zayyani, the head of the Gulf Co-operation Council, would return to Yemen for the event.
The GCC, which brokered the agreement, said in a statement that its foreign ministers would meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday and al-Zayyani would attend.
The Yemeni opposition dismissed Saleh’s promise to sign.
