Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And There Will Be Marches....

2118 GMT: The cynics said that the Syrian President was trying to buy time when he signed a deal two days ago with the Arab League. Today, the Syrian people tested the claims made by the regime, taking to the streets in nearly every major city and in every region across the country.

And now we have our answer from the regime: as many as 25 civilians are dead.

For two days, the video evidence, verified by shots of newspapers, protest signs, landmarks, and comparison against eyewitness accounts, has pointed towards a single conclusion. The Syrian military regime, led by Bashar al Assad, has no interest in negotiating, reforming, or ceding power. Today the regime sent two messages, as it showed that if you surrender then you may be spared, but if you continue to resist, we will shoot.

The first message was sent via State TV (SANA), but the regime has so little credibility that the US State Department advised Syrians not to take up Assad's offer of amnesty. The second message was sent with weapons, troops and tanks --- the instruments that the regime has used all along.

So, we have a return to a tag line we've written many times since March. The protesters, undeterred by violence, refuse to give in, the people want the "fall of the regime," and the regime, thus far, refuses to fall. So...what happens next?

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Deaths Return to Hama

Video of Friday's killings in Hama in Syria outside a mosque

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand: The People of Sitra "We Are Still Here. We Are Demanding. We Exist"
"Yes, We Will Tweet": How a Flashmob Took Over a New Media Conference in Lebanon
Bahrain Feature: The Freedom Torch Protests
Syria Video Special: Today's Protests Across the Country
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Back on the Streets?

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1950 GMT: Activists say 10 Syrian security agents and an army deserter were killed on Saturday when a bus transporting security agents between the villages of Al-Habit and Kafrnabuda in Idlib Province, in northwestern Syria close to the Turkish border, was ambushed "by armed men, probably deserters".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said that 17 soldiers were killed late on Friday in the central city of Homs when gunmen, believed to be deserters, attacked two checkpoints.

Elsewhere on Saturday, according to the Observatory, five civilians, including a woman and a 15-year-old teenager, were killed and several wounded by gunfire from Syrian forces and snipers in Homs Province (see 1915 GMT).

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Bahrain Propaganda 101: How a US PR Firm Puts "News" in American Newspapers (Whitaker)

So what progress has Qorvis made so far towards rehabilitating Bahrain's repressive regime? 

The past week has brought a stream of press releases, all proclaiming good news about Bahrain and presumably drafted by Qorvis on the government's behalf:

• Bahrain's Ambassador to the United States Acknowledges the Tenth Anniversary of September 11, Reaffirms Strong Bi-Lateral Ties (Sept 11)

• Bahrain Prepares for the New Academic Year (Sept 9)

• Bahrain's Government Continues to Move Forward With Reforms (Sept 8)

• Bahrain Establishes National Audit Court to Combat Corruption (Sept 8)

• Bahrain's National Dialogue Draws Support from Turkish President (Sept 7)

The basic message, then, is that Bahrain remains a steadfast ally of the United States, that it is pressing ahead with reforms as calm returns and (if we are to believe the Turkish president) is working for peace and stability in the Middle East.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: When "Many Thousands" Becomes Routine....

Claimed footage of protest today in Idlib Province in northwest Syria

1715 GMT: Libyan insurgents carried out a late-night reconnaissance raid on Friday on the oil port of Brega in north-central Libya.

An opposition military spokesman said a light mobile force of about 50 troops had breached regime positions before pulling back for a hoped-for offensive early on Saturday.

The insurgents held Brega for weeks in the spring before it was retaken by Muammar Qaddafi's forces.

The opposition troops had reportedly tried to dispose of more than 150 landmines found outside the town, to make way for heavy artillery, but the assault left at least 10 dead and 172 wounded, according to medics.

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Yemen, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Touring the Destruction

2110 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in the Harasta section of Damascus in Syria tonight:

2105 GMT: Riot police scatter protesters in Sitra in Bahrain:

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Cease-Fire?

2115 GMT: The New York Times summarises the context of the three-year sentence handed down today to blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad by an Egyptian military court.

And this is the post in March that got Nabil Sanad into trouble, as he queried whether the Egyptian military --- which he accused of torturing protesters --- was really on the side of the people.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Coalition Attacks

Footage from Britain's Channel 4 of the aftermath of coalition airstrikes on Libya

2210 GMT: We're going on an overnight break. Coverage continues via the Live Feed from Al Jazeera English.

2145 GMT: Little confirmed information tonight, but several blasts have rocked the Libyan capital Tripoli, with a plume of smoke seen from the direction of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's home in the Bab el-Aziziya compound in a south Tripoli suburb.

1920 GMT: Latest from Libya....

There was a spate of fire from anti-aircraft guns, apparently from nervous troops expecting airstrikes, in Tripoli. The capital is now quiet.

The Libyan military spokesman announced a new ceasefire for 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).

An Italian tugboat has been escorted out of port by officials of the Libyan port authority and military. The 11-member crew had been detained this weekend.

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