Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 5:57 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Live Coverage has been re-titled and moved to the top of the homepage, "Double Explosion Hits Army Staff HQ in Damascus".
Monday, September 24, 2012 at 6:14 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1812 GMT: Syria. The Syrian Information Ministry has denied firing its ambassador to Lebanon, a story which it claims was the result of hackers:
"The email account of the ministry was hacked in order to publish inaccurate information" about the reported dismissal of the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali, the ministry said in a statement carried by state television.
According to the Ministry of Information, Ambassador Ali is still working at his post.
1805 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 72 people have been killed today nationwide:
25 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs, 19 in Aleppo, 14 in Daraa, 9 in Homs, 2 in Lattakia, 1 in Hama, 1 in Deir Ezzor, and 1 in Idlib.
Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 11:50 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Police arrest protester during Friday demonstration in the Bahraini capital Manama --- 29 people were detained (Photo: Mahmood Alshaikh)
See also Syria Video Documentary: "The Heart of the Battle"
Bahrain Letter: Detained Zainab Alkhawaja Accepts Freedom Award "For The People Who Fight Against All Odds"
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Proclaims, "We Will Defeat Armed Groups", as His Planes Kill 100s of Civilians
1940 GMT: Syria. Residents and activists report fighting and snipers throughout Aleppo today.
In Suleiman al-Halabi, one of Aleppo's main streets, the army prevented residents from venturing into the area amid steady gunfire in the third day of fighting.
One resident said, "Almost 80 percent of the people in Suleiman al-Halabi left their homes after rebels entered the area."
Locals warned of snipers in the adjacent neighborhood of Midan, held by the regime, as streets were empty, shops were locked up, and several buildings and apartments were destroyed.
"The battle is now between snipers," Sheikh Walid, the head of an insurgent brigade in the southern Amiriya district said, as only few hundred meters separated the rival forces.
In Maysar, nine people were reportedly killed, including five members of the same family. Residents said insurgents reinforcements were pouring into the eastern district of Sakhur and Shaar.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 12:47 | James Miller in EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, US Foreign Policy, US Politics
There are legitimate reasons to question the administration on many issues, including foreign policy. There are looming questions, like whether drone strikes in Yemen have made us safer, whether there should be intervention in Syria, or how the US can stop Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from pre-emptively striking Iran and dragging us into a war that our military commanders do not want to fight. There are questions about Pakistan and Afghanistan, China and Mexico, Bahrain and Egypt and Libya. But we're not discussing these because, rather than confront President Obama within the sphere of legitimate controversy, Romney and the GOP have resorted to pulling our entire political dialogue into the sphere of deviance.
This has dangerous implications for American politics. And the media has played an important role in the downward spiral. Terrible daily coverage of the Middle East has led to sensational coverage of events that are more drama than substance. At the same time, a fear of confronting deviance has lent legitimacy to questions that are not legitimate. Those wishing to exploit the media's fear of perceived bias have poisoned the well of public discourse, and the media has distributed the water because, well, they think that it is their job.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 8:18 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Shelling of al-Qusayr in Homs Province in Syria this morning
See also Syria Feature: The Insurgents Test Self-Government
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Regime "Fully Purges Aleppo District From Terrorists"....Again
2030 GMT: Syria. British Foreign Secretary William Hague has told a Parliamentary committee that any intervention can only take place with Washington's participation.
While Hague said military action could not be ruled out, he said he saw “major disadvantages” and continued, "It would require intervention on a vastly greater scale than was the case in Libya, with no prospect at the moment of agreement at the U.N. Security Council, and would require the full involvement of the United States."
Monday, September 17, 2012 at 10:19 | James Miller in Africa, EA Global, EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Claimed footage of Libyans taking US Ambassador Chris Stevens --- unconscious or dead --- from a building in Benghazi on Tuesday night (see 0520 GMT)
See also Syria Feature: The Darayya "Massacre" and a Regime's "Slow, Steady Killing Strategy"
Syria Feature: "Insurgents Subjecting Detainees to Ill-Treatment, Torture, and Execution"
Iran Analysis: Tehran Hurts Itself With Muddled Messages on Syria
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Embassy Attacks Recede, While 164 Die Across Syria on Saturday
2106 GMT: Lebanon. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, has told a rally of tens of thousands protesting the US movie denigrating the Prophet Mohammad, “America must understand that releasing the entire film will have dangerous, very dangerous repercussions around the world.
The rally was in the Dahiyeh district of south Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Nasrallah said to the crowd that Western arguments over freedom of speech were “hypocrisy, deception, and double standards”. He called for “an international resolution criminalizing the defamation of heavenly religions".
President Obama pays tribute to US Ambassador Chris Stevens
Ambassador Stevens knew Libya, and he believed that it could become one of the first full success stories of the Arab Spring — that Islamic radicalism there could be nipped in the bud if Western governments acted decisively to put the country on a path to stability and social progress.
Now, his death may derail the very processes he championed.
The gravest mistake would be for the United States to write off Libya as an irredeemable terrorist haven, or for politicians in Washington to regret having intervened in support of Libya’s rebels. Libya is still far better off today than it was under Qaddafi.
Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 10:38 | Scott Lucas in EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran See also Libya Opinion: The Lesson of Ambassador Stevens' Last Act --- "The Gravest Mistake Would Be to Write Off The Country"
Yemen Feature: The Story Behind the Attack on the US Embassy
Syria Snapshot: The Insurgents Kill a "Jihadist" Leader
MENA Opinion: Time for Muslims to Manage Their Anger
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Will the Clashes Around the US Embassies Continue Today?
1705 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees report that 113 people have been killed by security forces today, including 47 in Aleppo Province and 31 in Damascus and its suburbs.
Despite the clashes in much of the country, including reported shelling today of southern suburbs of Damascus, the Government has restarted the school year.
State news agency SANA said more than 5 million students would return to 22,000 schools, with only those damaged by war or housing refugees not resuming classes, quoting the Minister of Education:
The Ministry accomplished all procedures in cooperation with the parties concerned for launching the educational process at schools for the 2012-2013 study season and is working to complete preparations in the areas where armed terrorist groups prevent students from going to school.
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 10:40 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Friday's peaceful protest in Binnish in northwest Syria against the US-produced film "The Innocence of Muslims"
See also MENA Audio Feature: Beginner's Guide to the Mohammad Film and the Violence --- Scott Lucas with the BBC
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Re-Focusing on the Conflict
2105 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees have updated today's death toll to 144, including 65 in Damascus and its suburbs, 23 in Aleppo Province, 22 in Idlib Province, and 15 in Deir Ez Zor Province.
1745 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees report that 127 people have been killed by security forces today, including 57 in Damascus and its suburbs, 20 in Aleppo Province --- among them, an entire family in Daret Azzah --- and 20 in Idlib Province.
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 7:27 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Demonstrators in Sudan set fire to the German Embassy on Friday
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.
BBC WM, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Prophet Mohammad, Sam Bacile, Tunisia, Yemen 
