Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: This is "Peace" --- Another 90 Die

Thursday night's protest rally in the Douma suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus

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2200 GMT: We're closing yet another crazy Friday. Here's a summary.

In Bahrain, there were nine very large protests, most or all of which were attacked by police who used teargas to disperse the crowds. Though protests were planned, they were larger and more energetic today after the news that a man died last night from tear gas inhalation.

Some protesters destroyed closed-circuit TV cameras and threw rocks at police. Apparently, there was at least one occurrence of youth throwing Molotov cocktails.

This anger was sparked by what the activists consider widespread police brutality. Large parts of the island nation were covered in teargas again today, and riot vehicles reportedly chased down protesters in an attempt to run them over. There are also more unconfirmed reports of injured children, and another unconfirmed report that police sexually molested a young girl. Earlier in the week activists say that the police molested and tortured a 16-year-old boy, Ali.

At the end of the day, resolution to this conflict seems further away than it has ever been.

In Syria, the primary headline was arguably the use of helicopters to attack ground targets for the first time that we can confirm. There were several instances of this today and last night, all of them between Aleppo and the border with Turkey.

At nightfall, there are more reports of widespread fighting between FSA soldiers and the Assad military, specifically in Hama and to the east of Damascus.

The other noteworthy video was posted at 1544 GMT, showing an IED attack against Assad infantry in Hama.

However, once again the fact that will be lost to most headline writers is that there were large and widespread protests across the country, including in Damascus and Aleppo. Once again the Syrian opposition has used another Friday to prove that their resistance to the regime cannot be shot or shelled into submission.

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Saudi Arabia Analysis: A Kingdom in Trouble? (Fakhro)

A demonstration on Saturday at King Khalid University, protesting conditions and the arrest of female students

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The reality for most Saudis is far-removed from the Kingdom’s reputation for extravagance. Official unemployment stands at 10 percent, but unofficial estimates place it as high as 20 percent. The latest official figures reveal that 670,000 families—approximately 3 million out of a total population of 18 million—live in poverty. Nor is hardship restricted to rural areas: a recent documentary on poverty in Riyadh, Maloub Alayna (The Joke’s on Us) recorded testimonies of families living on one meal a day, with as many as twenty people living in the same home.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100,000 March For Reform

Mass turnout at Saturday's funeral for Fadhel Al Obeidi, killed by Bahraini security forces (see 1450 GMT)

See also Israeli Jets Kill 14 in Gaza; Rockets Fired into Southern Israel
Tunisia Feature: Women Speak Out for Rights in a "New Country"
Syria Snap Analysis: Kofi Annan --- Lost on the Road to Damascus
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A UN Envoy in Damascus

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2250 GMT: In Bahrain, the public prosecutor's office has said that it is dropping criminal charges against 15 of 20 doctors and nurses who have been given prison sentences of five to 15 years.

The medics, who treated protesters in Salmaniya Medical Center in the early days of last year's demonstrations, were convicted in September by a military court of incitement to overthrow the government and attempting to occupy a hospital. After international criticism, the case was transferred to a civilian court for new hearings.

"The Public Prosecutor...has stated he will only be presenting evidence for a small number of accused involved in the most serious criminal violations," the office announced. "Of the criminal cases involving medical professionals, only five have been accused of serious criminal charges."

The statement said the 15 others would face disciplinary hearings for acts including breaching patient confidentiality by allowing cameras into a hospital, leading political protests inside the hospital, and discriminating against patients based on their sect.

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Syria 1st-Hand: With the Insurgents in Idlib Province (Los Angeles Times)

A unit in Idlib Province of the insurgent Free Syrian Army issues a statement, 14 February 2012

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Despite the urgency of their armed resistance and the rising death toll across the country, rebels here aren't rushing into battle against an army with far superior weapons and organization. Rather, they bide their time, staging guerrilla attacks and planning for the insurgency they want to fight, not the one they are equipped for now.

Rebels hope they'll soon see an influx of cash for weapons from the wealthy Persian Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both now openly dedicated to Assad's overthrow.

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Saudi Arabia Feature: A Growing Rebellion? (Hill)

A protest in Qatif, 9 February

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Saudis are protesting. They’ve been protesting for over a year. Their numbers are growing. And there’s no sign of them stopping.

It’s all happening in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, home to most of the Kingdom’s Shia minority, and 90 per cent of its oil. Seven people have been shot dead by Saudi security forces since October 2011, two in the past month alone. The Saudi Interior Ministry says these deaths resulted from gun battles between protesters and police. But in all amateur videos that show protesters being shot, there is no evidence that protesters were shooting back.

There have been remarkable scenes of rebellion. One photograph, taken on February 10 this year, shows a young man hurling an effigy of Crown Prince Nayef at a row of armoured anti-riot tanks.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Death of A Journalist

Marie Colvin, the journalist for The Sunday Times killed in Syria today, speaks to CNN on Tuesday about the death of a baby in Homs

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand: US Activist Radhika Sainath "Joining the Protests, Being Detained"
Syria Feature: Homs --- Dying Without Food, Medicine, or Supplies

Syria Special: Points to Consider When Arming an Opposition
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "A City of Torture"

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2015 GMT: In Idlib in Syria, a gunman fires in the direction of the cameraman who screams, "Damn it, that was right beneath me!":

Protesters at Aleppo University raise the Syrian "Flag of Independence" today:

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Saudi Feature: Did Interpol Help With Deportation of Hamza Kashgari? (Bowcott)

Hamza KashgariInterpol has been accused of abusing its powers after Saudi Arabia allegedly used the organisation's red notice system to get a journalist arrested in Malaysia for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Police in Kuala Lumpur said Hamza Kashgari, 23, was detained at the airport "following a request made to us by Interpol" the international police cooperation agency, on behalf of the Saudi authorities.

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Saudi Opinion: Hamza Kashgari, "Blasphemy", and the Two Sides of Islam

Saudi writer Hamza Kasghari is sitting in a holding cell in Malaysia. He’s not a murderer. He's not a rapist. His only crime is that he sent three tweets to a man who died more than a millennia ago, expressing his dissatisfaction with the deification of that man --- Mohamed, the prophet of Islam.

Those who have elevated that mortal man to the status of a living god want Kashgari's head. And they might get it.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Decimating Homs

The shelling and smoke in Bab Amr in Homs this morning

See also Syria Video Feature: How Can You Get News Out of the Country?
Syria Video Special: The Shelling of Homs, Days 5 and 6
Wednesday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Shutting Out the Journalists

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2110 GMT: Mazhar Tayyara, a freelance journalist working for several major European news agencies has been killed during the military attack on Homs, Syria:

Tayyara was a freelance journalist who was hired as a stringer for the Agence France-Presse and also who provided video footage for The Guardian and the Die Wilt in Germany.

Apparently Tayyara was trying to help some wounded people get to cover when a second volley of shells fell and he was hit by shrapnel in several parts of his body. He died several hours later in hospital.

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Bahrain Feature: Problems for the Financial Sector? (French)

Bahraini financial firms face a tough task raising funding in 2012, as political tensions from last year's Arab Spring unrest fester and real estate investments show no sign of paying off.

Analysts say one option for banks in the tiny island kingdom is to look to neighbour Saudi Arabia, but getting a hearing is often a challenge because lenders there have enough local business on their hands.

The violent protests against Bahrain's rulers rattled Western banks operating there and equally importantly dealt a body blow to real estate prices, leading to impairments at Islamic banks in particular.

"Bahrain is a ghost town right now," said one Dubai-based banker who makes frequent trips to the island, speaking on condition on anonymity.

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