Egypt, Yemen, Syria, & Beyond LiveBlog: Challenging the Regimes

Tahrir Square in Cairo today. See our separate video entry, "Syria Video Special: Friday Protests"

1536 GMT: Security forces attempted to break up protests in Banias, Syria, and protesters respond by throwing stones.

1530 GMT: Besides the armed conflict (and truce) between Saleh and Yemen's largest tribe (noted below), and beyond the massive protests in Sana'a (noted below), there were also large protests elsewhere in Yemen. This video shows protesters in Taiz's Freedom Square chanting "The people want to prosecute the butcher."

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Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Battle of Sana'a

Footage from inside the compound of Yemeni opposition tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, taken by Tom Finn of The Guardian, showing the destruction from regime shelling and treatment of an injured tribesman

2035 GMT: Thanks to James Miller for taking the LiveBlog through the afternoon.

More on the story, which began circulating yesterday, that the Libyan regime is offering conditions for a cease-fire and talks with the opposition....

"We have received a message from the Libyan government seeking an accord for a possible ceasefire," a spokesman for the office of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, said on Thursday.

The initiative came from Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. He said at a news conference in Tripoli, "We are ready for a ceasefire. The solution cannot be a military one. There must be debate among Libyans far away from bombs."

But al-Mahmoud set one important condition: "Muammar Qaddafi is the leader of the Libyan people. If Muammar Qaddafi goes, all the Libyan people go."

The Independent of London reported on Wednesday that it had a copy of a letter from al-Mahmoudi to foreign governments, proposing an immediate ceasefire to be monitored by the United Nations and the African Union, unconditional talks with the opposition, amnesty for both sides in the conflict, and the drafting of a new constitution.

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Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Battle in the Capital...Expanded

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.

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Arab Spring Alert: Why, Oh Why, Are You Ruining Our Fight Against Terrorism?

Britain's Tony Blair & Muammar Qaddafi, 2004You might think that the "Arab Spring" would bring hope to everyone, given calls for democracy, justice, civil society, political representation, freedom of expression and media.

Nope.

There is one group which is worried that all of these demonstrations and discussions might be aiding terrorism. "European and Israeli intelligence officers" are worried that friendly intelligence services --- you know, Mr Qaddafi's men in Libya, Mubarak's in Egypt, Ben Ali's in Tunisia --- are being disrupted by all this fuss on the streets.

Read on....

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Finding the Dead

Candle-lit demonstration in the Damascus suburb of Saqba last night

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2045 GMT: Activists says Lebanon has detained at least two Syrian soldiers who crossed the border to escape clashes between security forces and protesters.

The soldiers reportedly fled after opening fire on regime troops attacking civilians near a border checkpoint that they were manning. One soldier is said to have been killed.

2040 GMT: Libyan officials said they have been trying unsuccessfully to contact Minister of Oil, Shukri Ghanem, who has reportedly defected (see 1030 GMT), for the past 24 hours.

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Marching on the Streets

2110 GMT: Reuters now report that 35 anti-regime protesters in Taiz in Yemen were wounded today when plainclothes gunmen fired into the crowd (see 1220 GMT).

2100 GMT: Claimed footage of protesters in the Syrian town of Daraa shouting slogans against the Assad regime as Major General Mohammed Aalgirat leaves a building:

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Just Another Manic Friday?

Video from today's massive protest in Yemen's capital, Sanaa:

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1935 GMT: A hospital official has said that Suzanne Mubarak, wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, suffered a heart attack Friday after she was questioned over corruption allegations (see 1302 GMT).

Hosni Mubarak was hospitalised with heart problems soon after he was summoned for questioning last month.

1930 GMT: Libya State TV has broadcast an audio statement by leader Muammar Qaddafi, denying he is injuring. He condemns the NATO attack on his Tripoli compound, saying he is "in a place where you can't reach me".

(The announcer responds after the audio, "Yes, oh Brother Leader, the millions are with you and are behind you.")

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Blood in the Streets

Gunfire erupts as security forces clash with protesters in Yemen on Wednesday

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2125 GMT: Witnesses in Oman say soldiers and police have moved into protest camps in the capital of Muscat and the southern city of Salalah, arresting dozens of demonstrators calling for reforms.

The witnesses say there were no serious injuries in the raids.

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Libya Snapshot: How the Opposition Held Misurata

"All of a sudden I became responsible for macaroni and onions," said Majdi Shibani, a telecommunications professor put in charge of food distribution — a daunting task in a sprawling city where all phone lines have been cut. His team oversees distribution of 400 tons of food per week from a room in the back of a hookah lounge, where customers smoke water pipes.

Donations of food have streamed in on boats from the Libyan diaspora, foreign countries and international organizations. There's little coordination, resulting in huge surpluses of, say, canned corn — which Shibani said Libyans hate.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Qaddafi Son, 3 Grandsons Reportedly Killed in Airstrike

2150 GMT: Back to the start of our busy Sunday --- Libyan State TV has shown footage of what it claims is the body of leader Muammar Qaddafi's son Seif al-Arab, reportedly killed by a NATO airstrike:

2140 GMT: Activists, residents, and a prominent lawyer have said that Syrian authorities are rounding up busloads of young men in the occupied city of Daraa.

"They are arresting all males above 15 years. They only have old security tactics and they are acting on revenge," said the lawyer. "Bullets are their response to the people's revolt. The security forces who came to Deraa told us 'Go buy bread from a bakery called Freedom. Let's see if it feeds you.'"

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